Oof. Look at this girl go – restarting a blog and missing a week almost immediately. What can I say? I had a paper due last week. After doing a deep dive into reflexivity and the need for a community developed code of ethics for adult educators, my brain was toast. 3500 words is so many words. But anyway, I digress. I was gone, now I am back, and I want to talk about Elevate, a little program that I’ve been doing at my barre studio for the past month.
What is Elevate?
Great question. I have literally included almost no context to indicate what I want to talk about.
Long time readers know that I have worked at Barre Body Studio for approximately a zillion years. (For the context of this post, a zillion equals more than six. That’s almost a third of my life.) I’ve covered the front desk, I taught classes for almost two years, I’ve been a general hype girl. Barre Body Studio is my third place. (Reference: Starbucks. It’s the space between work and home, and was a really significant driving motivation at the time I worked there.) I watched BBS pivot during the Covid-19 pandemic immediately and inspiringly, just like the industry leaders they have always been.
I mean, I literally took a live Rise Up class taught by Marlo via Facebook Live on the day that the studio shut down.
Anyway, that doesn’t explain what Elevate is. Elevate is an 8-week fitness and nutrition program like nothing that BBS has ever offered before.
Aha! This makes sense. You love Challenges.
I do love challenges. But this isn’t a challenge. Not really.
Elevate is a barre program, but it’s more than that. It’s a lifestyle program. A program designed around learning, growing and having a community that supports you through all of this chaos. It isn’t about just taking classes and ticking things off on a board (though that is a part of it and I do love filling out squares on a grid). It’s about making choices you can be proud of, about making little changes, about learning how to listen to yourself.
I don’t know that I necessarily understood this going into it. I thought I would take barre classes, follow a set out meal plan and recap at the end of each week. Instead I’m in the thick of it, learning about nutrition and intuitive eating, and remembering that even if I don’t feel like doing a barre class, I always feel super good once I start moving.
But do you like the Elevate barre challenge (not a challenge, program. I mean program)?
Yeah. I do. Part of the program is that there is a workout calendar provided, with suggested classes from the Barre Body Studio On Demand platform, and I enjoy not having to make decisions about what to do to move my body each day. I’m up to exclusively using 3 lb weights during my classes now and, while that doesn’t sound like a lot, anyone who has done barre can tell you that’s a real accomplishment.
I also thought I knew a lot about nutrition (and I do), but Sarah Remmer (the RD for the program) has a great way of really breaking down knowledge and encouraging us to make small changes that make a big difference. I’ve been working on increasing my dietary fibre, by making sure half my plate is always fruit or vegetables, and it has made a huge difference in my hunger cues/snacking.
And, really, how often do you get constant access to a RD and a barre master via a private facebook group?
I’m in! How do I join?
Well… Elevate 2020 is almost half way over.
While you can’t join the challenge, you can still work with Barre Body Studio or Sarah Remmer and I would recommend both. BBS offers both in studio and livestreamed classes for those who want to workout at home during the pandemic. Alternatively, they have an On Demand site with over 100 classes (and more uploaded all the time) and a very reasonable price. Sarah Remmer offers appointments on her website and, if you are not ready for a personal consultation, she has a ton of delicious and easy recipes available there as well.
And, if nothing else, read Intuitive Eating. It’s making my brain wrinkle, ya’ll, I’ll definitely share more thoughts about it once I start to figure out some of these wrinkles.
(Also, I thought this post would be a lot funnier and more self-reflective, but I just love Barre Body Studio so much and wanted to shout about that. I’ll save my hijinks for when I do my eight week retrospective, since ya’ll know what this is all about now.)
Editing Erin: Oh my god, I wrote this entire post with the idea in mind that I had completed four weeks. I’ve completed three weeks. No wonder I’m still figuring it out!